shopping in toronto

In the mood for a little retail therapy on your next visit to Scarborough? This area of Toronto is incredibly diverse when it comes to shopping – offering designer brands, quirky local boutiques and discounted vintage thrift shops. It also has a set of Asian-influenced mega malls to explore.

If you’re planning on going shopping in Scarborough, here’s a few ideas on where to start:

This is one of the biggest malls in Scarborough and it offers a huge selection. It is the 9th largest mall in Canada, the 5th largest in Ontario and the 3rd largest in Toronto. It has been around since 1973, but was recently renovated in 2010 to be larger, brighter and more modern.

Some of the many brands you will find here include Lululemon, Adidas, Ardena, Forever 21, Bluenotes, Foot Locker, H&M, Urban Planet and Suzy Shier. A popular spot is Torrid, a women’s clothing store known for lingerie, trendy plus-size cocktail dresses and stylish footwear.

The mall also features the Scarborough Walk of Fame, which honours famous members of the Scarborough community include artist Doris McCarthy, pulmonary scientist Dr. Charles C. Macklin and Olympic hockey player Vicky Sunohara.

If you work up an appetite while shopping, you can dine at the TASTE MRKT – the large open air food court with patio-style seating underneath a bright skylight.

Scarborough also has a great selection of thrift stores and used clothing options – and Plato’s Closet is a great example of this. This vintage consignment shop has a lot of great finds and it’s a lot of fun to hunt through the racks for treasures.

You can often find a lot of great brands and stylish options for up to 70% of the retail price. As with any second hand clothing store you never know what you’re going to get and it can take some hunting to find the right option. However, when you find a treasure you love for a deeply discounted price – there’s no better feeling.

Also, if you want to get rid of some of your old clothes you don’t wear anymore to make room for the new ones, you can sell them here. They will pay you in cash for your old clothes, as long as they are in good condition.

Another option for shopping in Scarborough is Splendid China Mall. This Chinese mall offers a lot of practical services, including optometrists, acupuncturists, hair dressers, accounting services and even a Feng Shui consultant. It is also a great place to find beauty products, as well as electronics and accessories.

It’s located in a neighbourhood that has one of the largest residential concentrations of ethnic Chinese in Canada. Across the street you’ll also find Pacific Mall and Market Village Mall – which are also large sprawling Asian mall complexes with a wide variety of shops.

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When you make the trip to Toronto – make sure you have extra room in your suitcase.

You’re going to want to take advantage of the amazing shopping in downtown Toronto, and you’ll likely end up with plenty of new goodies to bring home with you. Here are some of the best places to indulge in retail therapy, only steps away from your stay at the Livmore.

Dundas Square

Dundas Square is the “Times Square” of Toronto – a bustling intersection with 100,000 people crossing per day (the busiest in Canada). Lining this popular square are several great shops, as well as restaurants, bars and cafes.

Plus – Dundas Square is known for being an outdoor hub for live entertainment – so you just might just get to enjoy a show with your shopping.

Eaton Centre

This long-standing, glass-ceilinged, multi-level mall is a landmark in Toronto – and it is visited by more tourists than any other attraction in Toronto. It’s actually the busiest shopping mall in North America – beating out many other huge shopping complexes in the USA.

The mall has 330 stores and restaurants and you could spend hours and hours perusing them. Don’t forget to look up and admire the beautiful fibreglass sculpture “Flight Stop” by artist Michael Snow – depicting Canada geese in flight.

First Canadian Place

This landmark skyscraper features over 100 shops, as well as restaurants, event spaces and doctor’s offices – towering 72 stories above the Financial District of downtown Toronto (It’s also home to the Toronto Stock Exchange). There are plenty of great shops to check out, including several upscale brands.

There’s also an international food court with a great patio where you can enjoy a meal outside in the summer. The options include Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Greek and mor. You can fuel up after working up an appetite from all that shopping.

Atrium

Located right in the heart of downtown Toronto, Atrium is a shopping centre packed with some great brands. It doesn’t have the best selection, but it is less crowded than the Eaton Centre and certainly worth a look. One of the stand-out shops is “Long Tall Sally” – a retail clothing shop catering to all women.

This mall has a lot of little perks that make life easier for shoppers. For example, there are even free mobile device charging stations located in the concourse.

Kensington Market

In this funky, walkable bohemian neighbourhood you’ll find all sorts of fascinating shops. If you are looking for vintage clothing, indie records, artisanal vegan snacks, local artwork or anything funky and homemade – this would be the place to look.

Plus, this area is also packed with trendy bars, quirky coffee shops and excellent international eateries – it’s a hangout for the creative and hip crowd.

Where do you love to shop in Toronto? Let us know in the comments below! For more tips on what to do during your stay, check out our guide to 10 Things to Do in Downtown Toronto.